There are many reasons I like Ida Maria. First and foremost, her lyrics contain a raw honesty that most aren’t capable of expressing in private, let alone public, and I was interested to see if she could maintain that energy during a live show. So I headed to the Hiro Ballroom last Friday. (Again NYCers, my first time at this venue and really enjoyed it.) Then Ida got onstage and started kicking mics over while her hot male band members chanted the chorus. I realized that it’s more than just liking her music, I’m actually quite jealous of her. I want to jump on stage and wail on guitar and sing rock songs about people that have screwed me over. Anyone else feel this way?
Point being, this is a singer who has found a way to channel anger into a really stellar presence on stage. It’s interesting that she’s been receiving such a dichotomy of feedback as soon as she started to achieve a more mainstream presence. There’s a split straight down the middle on whether or not she’s a relevant artist, to which I respond, “Shut up and let the girl play.” She’s attempting to foster a long traditional of strong females in music and for that I think she deserves praise not condemnation. Is she Chrissie Hynde? No. But honestly, that’s a tall comparison.
In between hit singles “I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked” and “Oh My God,” Ida was very interactive with the audience thanking them profusely, letting us know New York is a difficult city to tackle but she was feeling the love, and just goofing off. What I enjoyed most about seeing her live, beside a wonderful rendition of “Stella” that was my personal highlight, was the fact that she didn’t take herself or her music too seriously. It was clear she was having a lot of fun and wanted the audience too as well.
Check out the Ahead of the Curve spot she shot for mtvU down at SXSW earlier this year and the video for her single below:
